What is this weird worm like thing my dog keeps trying to eat!!!

[Scam1789]

Ok, my dog keeps finding these in the back yard, and eating them. I live in Indianapolis, and I am amazed anything like this is still alive moving this late in the year. But I am not only wondering what it is, but if I should be concerned that my dog has eaten any.

The images are yellowed out terribly, as I took these in a hurry. The little critter is mostly white with 2 rows of black dashes, and it excretes a green ooze.

 

[Farmritch]

Kinda looks like a grub worm to me
Same thing Racoons & Moles eat

 

[Scam1789]

Kinda looks like a grub worm to me
Same thing Racoons & Moles eat

Pretty sure it is bigger than any grub worm I have seen. Sorry I should have put something about scale in here. It is about 2 1/2 inches long, and looks like a naked caterpillar. Quite a bit bigger than I believe grub worms usually are.

 

[HICKMAN]

ROFL, I need some of those to go fishin with!

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Some sort of cutworm. The color makes it hard to tell for sure what type. They overwinter in the grass usually below the frost line but the recent heavy rain could have forced them to the surface. They grow up to 2". 2.5" would be a whopper but not impossible. your dog has strange taste in treats but then my lab likes to eat rabbit droppings.

 

[shibumiseeker]

It's a grub. Grub is a generic term for just about any type of insect larvae that lives in soil or decayed wood. Grubs are often much harder to identify what insect they come from as they look a lot alike. 2-3" long is typical for the larger ones. I see a lot of them when I am excavating.

Don't worry about your dog, these things are high in protein and are edible.

 

[langb29]

My dog has been getting into those worms too! She comes back in the house smelling like bare metal, kind of a weird smell... We were wondering what they were.

 

[HCAman]

LOL, animals will eat or play with just about anything. Our cat brings in 8 to 10 inch nightcrawlers when it rains... Dang dog door...

 

[Big John]

MMMMMMMMMM Looks tasty!!

Mixed in with some fresh eggs scrambled nicely a bit of homemade salsa...

I would say your dog has good taste, mine on the other hand likes to sneak chicken , I guess I don't feed her enough either that or it taste like chicken.

 

[Limpy88]

i doubt lowes has any lawn stuff out because of the christmas they put out before halloween. But alot of the lawn bug killers have pictures and descriptions of the worms the product kills. that look like one of them on the scotts stuff i've used before.

 

[pokey308]

just be thankful you havent had the moles move in for the buffet yet. we have those in our backyard and have tried everything to keep the spread down cause the moles have tore the **** out of our yard. so have the dogs trying to get the moles.

 

[rimfire_crazed]

Yep. Just a grub. I'll be heavily treating about 1/3 of my yard and 1/3 of my neighbors as soon as the snow clears in the spring - the moles/voles/gophers are having a field day and it looks like an outtake from Caddyshack.

 

[cubby]

you can use Grub X or just straight ag Lime. the lime sweetens the soil and the grubs don't like it, they move on. works for moles, too, because the grubs are teh food source. no food, no moles.

check out the Bayer site for a good tutorial on how to treat or prevent grubs in the yard. you will notice far fewer bugs come spring/summer time also.

ag lime is much cheaper, but doesn't KILL the grubs. it drives them away.

Solution Center Home - Bayer Advanced

 

[LEaSH]

The grubs will do a number on your yard, true.

But some of those grub killers can be horrible for a dog. Try the lime route if Fido uses the same area as the grubs.

 

[VERT]

Some sort of cutworm. The color makes it hard to tell for sure what type. They overwinter in the grass usually below the frost line but the recent heavy rain could have forced them to the surface. They grow up to 2". 2.5" would be a whopper but not impossible. your dog has strange taste in treats but then my lab likes to eat rabbit droppings.

Gotta agree with Fishersjohn. This is the larval stage of something that is going to develop into a moth. Cutworm works for me. I tried to look it up, but my insect id book concentrates more on butterflies then moths.

What most people refer to as grubs turn into beetles. For example the japanese beetle that cause so much trouble are the adult stage for grubs (immature stage) that are often found in lawns. Another grub develops into June bugs.

 

[bucmaster]

MY NEIGHBORS DOG ROOTS AROUND UNDER WET LEAVES IN LATE FALL LIKE A PIG. HE SEEMS TO ENJOY THEM.